From Theory to Practice: Hardware Verification of Beamforming for 16-channel Phased Array Systems

Beamforming techniques play a key role in improving the signal quality and spatial selectivity of wireless communication systems. Despite the maturity of the theoretical framework for beamforming, the transition to hardware-based experimental platforms remains underexplored. To address this problem, the feasibility of the beamforming technique is experimentally verified using an existing hardware platform and beamforming method. For hardware implementation, we used a broadband RF sensing unit (Y790) as the transmitter to send signals, which are transmitted to a 16-channel phased array through an omnidirectional antenna, and processed by a digital beamforming unit to realize beamforming. For software implementation, we utilize the existing MUSIC algorithm, and SMI algorithm to adjust the phase difference of each unit to achieve beam formation and pointing control. Through the co-design of modular hardware and adaptive algorithms, the feasibility of translating theoretical beamforming principles into practical hardware validation is revealed, providing solutions for the practical deployment of next-generation communication architectures.